Ricardo to assist with new mass transit rail project in Taiwan

Ricardo to assist with new mass transit rail project in Taiwan

Ricardo is pleased to confirm its appointment to provide Independent Verification and Validation services for the construction of the new 27km ‘Green Line’ on the Taoyuan MRT system.

The new line, also known as the ‘Aerotropolis Line’, will link Taoyuan City to Taiwan’s international airport, and also connect to the major centres of Zhongli, Bade and Dasi that form an urban corridor with a combined population of almost 750,000 people.

Over the course of the next 11 years the Ricardo team will closely follow the system’s development, providing independent assessments of the system’s rolling stock, signalling, track infrastructure, power supply, supervisory control and data acquisition technology, stations and maintenance depots. The team will also assess safety standards throughout every aspect of the system’s construction.

In order to meet the scale and complexity of the assignment, a team of around 40 specialist engineers and assessors will be required, sourced mainly from Ricardo’s Taipei-based team, but calling upon technical support from Ricardo teams in Asia and Europe as required.

Following the opening series of meetings with Taiwan Taoyuan City MRT, Ricardo Rail’s business manager for Taiwan, Anon Tian, said: “The Taoyuan City Green Line is the largest ever urban system in Taiwan to request IV&V support and we are proud to have been chosen by the selection committee to perform the role. It serves as confirmation of our strong reputation in Taiwan for professionalism, impartiality and experience.

“We recognize that our role places a heavy responsibility on each Ricardo staff member, but the team is fully committed to working with the Taoyuan City Government to deliver a system that will serve the city with reliable trains and excellent customer service from day one. We will immediately start preparations for working alongside the project teams, and will be with them at each step of the way through to 2025."

The Green Line, which will feature 21 stations (including ten underground), will eventually form part of an extensive regional network of up to six rapid transit lines with connections to the existing Taipei - Taoyuan Airport rail link and the Taiwan High Speed Railway.

The appointment continues a long and successful history between Ricardo and the Taiwan rail sector. The Taipei based team provided the independent verification and validation work throughout the construction of the original high-speed network between 2000 and 2007, as well as its recent extension. The team also performed the same role on the Taipei - Taoyuan Airport rail link which opened this year.